Insects may be the food of the future
IT’S clear that the way we are farming animals isn’t really sustainable. They take up a lot of land, use a lot of water and what’s more, they aren’t actually that efficient as a source of protein. It takes a lot of feed and time to grow livestock. They also emit gases which contribute to global warming.
Now, consider this. By 2050, the world’s population is expected to grow to about nine billion people. That’s nine billion mouths to feed. More food is needed but land and water resources are becoming scarce. What can we do?
One approach is to adopt a traditional vegetarian or vegan diet but not everybody is content to eat just vegetables for their daily meals. Several companies are trying to make very realistic mock meat out of vegetable products. Some, like Impossible Foods, have come up with burgers made from plant material that look, smell and taste like meat.
Another approach is to grow meat in a lab. There are also several companies trying to do this with varying degrees of success. One company, Aleph Farms, has actually managed to create a steak from cells ― not a burger ― but an actual steak!
If you’re not into vegetarian or lab-grown meat, there is yet another option: Eating insects. I know the very thought of that probably makes you feel disgusted but that’s probably more a cultural thing than anything else. In Malaysia, we don’t usually eat insects but this is quite popular in other parts of the world, including our neighbour to the North, Thailand.
The reasons why insects may be an ideal source of protein for the future are threefold. Firstly, it’s a superior source of protein. Secondly, it’s environmentally friendly and sustainable. Thirdly, according to many accounts, it actually tastes good!
HEALTHY PROTEIN
There are about 2,000 insects that are edible. The average insect is around half protein by dry weight, with some insects being as high
as 75 per cent protein. This makes it comparable to livestock protein sources but minus the antibiotics and hormones.
Have you ever seen an overweight insect? No, because insects are by nature low in fat, with a typical insect having less than 5g of fat per serving. Insects are also generally very high in nutrients including amino acids, vitamins and minerals.
ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY
Insects are better at converting food into protein than traditional livestock. It’s about five times more efficient than cows, for example. The reason for their efficiency is that they are cold-blooded and thus require less energy to maintain their internal body temperature. Crickets require about 2kg of food to produce 1kg of protein, and about 80 per cent of the cricket is edible. In contrast, cows require 8kg of feed to produce 1kg of protein, and only about 40 per cent of the cow can actually be consumed.
Insect farming also requires much less space, especially if compared to rearing livestock. Insects can be farmed in boxes that can be stacked on top of each other. They need very little water and there won’t be any irrigation issues. They can eat certain types of plants that humans and livestock can’t. They also grow fast and reproduce fast.
It’s well known that livestock, in particular,
cows, contribute significantly to the greenhouse effect as they produce gases such as methane and ammonia. Insects produce just a tiny fraction of such gases.
TASTY
If health and sustainability are not important enough issues to convince you, how about the fact eating insects actually tastes good?
I’ve not actually eaten many insects other than perhaps some unfortunate ants I accidentally tasted while eating rambutans (they tasted kind of acidic!). It’s not that easy to find insects as food around here. But in many other countries, it’s considered normal to eat insects and people do it apparently because they like the taste.
Brazil, China, Ghana, Mexico and Thailand are some of the countries where insect as food is quite popular. In Brazil you can find fried ants and chocolate-covered ants. In China, you can feast on fried silkworm larvae as well as bee larvae. Termites are popular in Ghana. Apparently they have a minty flavour. Mexicans love fried grasshoppers and they are popular in Thailand too.
I’m not sure if you consider scorpions or tarantulas to be insects but these are eaten in different parts of the world. Apparently, they taste like seafood. Scorpion is supposed to taste like prawns (Unsurprising considering they actually look a bit like prawns) and tarantulas are supposed to taste like crab (once again, the features are surprisingly similar).
OVERCOMING RESISTANCE
If insect eating isn’t part of your culture ― and it certainly isn’t part of ours in Malaysia ― it will take a real change in mindset among the populace for this to become common place. Most people still find the notion of eating insects to be disgusting. But it really is a mindset thing.
Malaysians eat all kinds of things that others would find disgusting. The thought of eating fish head or chicken feet can be revolting to many Westerners. But to change mindsets is a difficult thing and it will take a lot of time.
Making insects more palatable to those not used to this would require some creativity. One way of course is to prepare it in a way that it doesn’t look anything like an insect.
Turn it into powder form. The powdered form should be acceptable to most people unless they have a philosophical aversion to eating insects because it looks literally like flour. A company called Chapul does this. Another likely acceptable form is to create protein bars. A company called Exo specialises in this. Or you could turn them into chips. A company called Chirps makes these.
Clever marketing is also probably needed. Research done in Switzerland and Germany gives us some insight into what might need to be done to encourage people to consider eating insects. Participants in a study were offered a chocolate truffle filled with mealworms. Half of them were given a flyer saying that eating insects was healthy and environmentally friendly. The other half were told that eating insects is the new hot trend.
About 62 per cent of the former chose to try the truffle but some 76 per cent of the latter were willing to give it a try. Perhaps not surprisingly, the latter group also rated the truffles as being tastier. That goes to show psychology plays a big role in making something new acceptable. And that appealing to people’s emotions and sense of taste is a better strategy than promoting health and sustainability.
Whatever the case, hopefully this trend catches on. It’s a good, practical solution to the problem of scarce farming resources like land and water. Moreover, it’s kinder to the environment and a more efficient way of providing protein to the ever-growing population.